The flu is hitting the U.S. particularly hard this winter, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating there have been 15 million illnesses and 180,000 hospitalizations so far this season.
But even as a variant known as subclade K drives up cases across the nation, antivirals such as Tamiflu remain an effective weapon for shortening the duration of symptoms in people who come down with seasonal influenza.
“There’s nothing about this (variant) that would affect the activity of the antivirals,” said Brandon Dionne, associate clinical professor in pharmacy and health systems sciences at Northeastern University.
The key is take the medications as soon as possible, the experts said. And that requires getting a prescription.
Tamiflu, the go-to
Tamiflu, which goes by the generic name oseltamivir, is a readily available oral treatment typically prescribed twice a day for five days, Dionne said. “That’s the go-to for most people.”
Tamiflu acts on both influenza A and B by inhibiting the neuraminidase enzyme, the “N” in flu viruses like H1N1 or H3N2, that release new viral particles from the host cell membrane, Dionne said.
